Promoting civility and practicing the Golden Rule every day

Wed, 2017-07-12

The Hill

Too often, all the American people see of Congress is hyper-partisan bickering on cable TV. What they don’t see when the cameras are turned off? Many of us are friends. The policy disputes? They aren’t personal, even when passionate.

We are passionate because we all love our country. We want to serve the people who sent us to Washington to get things done for the American people. And we believe strongly in what we stand for. But we can disagree without being disagreeable. And the way we carry ourselves in our public debates is how we are represented to the American people – no matter how cordial we are behind closed doors.

We can, and must, do better.Weber Shandwick and Powell Tate, in partnership with KRC Research, recently released a report on the state of civility in America. It found that incivility has reached “crisis levels” in our country.

These findings, sadly, are not surprising. Particularly disappointing was that a majority of Americans believe incivility in our politics encourages general incivility in society, which deters citizens from engaging in public service. Incivility can lead to intimidation, threats, harassment, cyberbullying, discrimination and violence. In the wake of the attack on our fellow members of Congress at a Congressional Baseball Game practice of all places, the need for action could not be more urgent.